The music department's Foreign Study Program, which had previously been hosted in London and Vienna, will now travel to Beijing starting in Spring 2013, according to music professor Kui Dong. Students participating in the program will study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Dong said she is "happy" about the program since it will give students a new opportunity to study East Asian music. A maximum of 16 applicants will be selected for the program, according to Dong. During the 10-week program, students will live with other international students studying at the conservatory and take three courses taught in English. For first course, the class will attend up to 40 musical events in the Beijing area and discuss the pairing of music with other art forms. Faculty members from the conservatory will lead the second course, an ethnomusicology class focusing on the history of East Asian music. For the final course which Dong said is an "open project" students can engage in private music lessons or explore another artistic medium and how that medium relates to the field of music. The inspiration for the program came from Dong's own studies at the conservatory before coming to the United States, Dong said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
A lack of "professional role confidence" contributes to the low number of female engineering students, according to a press release by the American Sociological Association regarding a recent study conducted at four Massachusetts universities. The study, which surveyed students at Smith College, Franklin W. Olin College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, found women to be less confident despite having equal or better achievements in the classroom. Women who chose engineering majors were also found to have a reduced chance of completing their degree programs compared to men, according to the press release.
The financial burden for public colleges and universities has moved away from state governments to the federal government, according to reports conducted by the College Board released on Wednesday. Public institutions have raised tuition costs more than private institutions primarily because of decreases in state funds. The College Board cited unemployment as one factor making it more difficult for students to pay for college. The report showed that state finances for public institutions have experienced an 18 percent cut in the last three years and an overall 23 percent cut in the last decade, Inside Higher Ed reported.
